At the NHL Trade Deadline, the Buffalo Sabres tried to make a splash by trading for Robert Thomas. According to reports, the Sabres and St. Louis Blues were talking before general manager Jarmo Kekalainen decided to pivot as the asking price got too high.
The thought was that maybe this was a trade target the Buffalo Sabres could revisit in the offseason, but that possibility has seemingly disappeared. On Friday night, Andy Strickland reported the Blues are not trading Thomas, and he will be on their roster when they begin training camp in September.
From the Blues' perspective, it didn't really make sense for them to look to trade Thomas, whether they are rebuilding or not. He is still in the prime of his career at 26 years old and still has plenty of great hockey ahead of him.
If the Blues try to rebuild, Thomas is still going to be an elite center by the time they realistically are ready to compete.
Buffalo Sabres still have plenty of options to improve their Top 6
For the Buffalo Sabres, it remains to be seen if they were even talking with the Blues about Robert Thomas. It certainly would make sense as he addresses a big need as a top-line center and would help fill the void left by a potential departure of Alex Tuch.
The good news is that there are still options out there, with the latest being Dylan Larkin. The Red Wings' center recently requested a trade and would be another player who would absolutely make the Sabres better if they could swing a trade.
It would be tough, probably tougher than completing a Robert Thomas trade, as the Red Wings are a division rival. The last thing the Red Wings would want to do is trade Larkin within the division, and it will be on the Sabres to give them an offer they can't refuse.
It is still early in the offseason but one thing is clear and that is Robert Thomas won't be playing in Western New York, or anywhere other than St. Louis next season.
